Physics Awards for the "Founding Fathers" of CMS

Michel Della Negra and Tejinder (Jim) Virdee have been recognized for their work on CMS by their respective national physics institutes.

Michel has been awarded the 2014 prix André Lagarrigue for his “qualités exceptionelles de batisseur de dispositifs expérimentaux d’une très grande complexité, avec une compréhension profonde de la physique” or “exceptional quality in building experimental devices of great complexity, with a profound understanding of physics”. The full citation can be found at [PDF] http://prixlagarrigue.lal.in2p3.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/De...

In celebration of the award, a full day of seminars followed by a reception will take place at LAL, Orsay, Paris on 14 December.

Tejinder has been awarded the 2015 Glazebrook Medal and Prize, a Gold Medal of the UK Institute of Physics, for his “leadership of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) where evidence for the Higgs boson was revealed after twenty years of research involving design, construction and data taking”. The full citation can be found at: http://www.iop.org/about/awards/gold/glazebrook/medallists/page_65852.html

The awards dinner ceremony will take place in London on 5 November.

Upon hearing of the awards Michel and Tejinder remarked, “It is especially satisfying to be recognized by fellow scientists. However, the long and arduous construction and data taking with CMS, the momentous discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and more, have only been possible through the dedicated and painstaking effort of CMS colleagues from over 40 countries. For us, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside them.”